


Think Great, Achieve Greater

by IWalkInAir



Series: Of Wings, Magic, and Other Things [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Haruno Humans, I should go to bed, Iruka adopted Naruto, Jiraiya & Tsunade are his traveling grandparents, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Sai Black-eyed Being, Senju Hybrids, Slow To Update, Tags May Change, Uchiha Humans w/ cursed eyes, Uzumaki Shapeshifters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-08-27 21:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8418244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWalkInAir/pseuds/IWalkInAir
Summary: Between three platues rests three open valleys separated by lush forests. Here resides many great and diverse peoples. From humans to elves and spirits, all live peacefully in the Valleys Hidden in the Leaves. However, the army is still not up to it's former strength and is working to hire new recruits... but can two local misfits make the cut?





	1. Tomorrow's My Chance

Naruto was nothing if not unique. However, unique does not pass the oral half of the entry exam.

Iruka knew this. His grandparents knew this... Yet somehow, Naruto himself was oblivious.

"WHAT?! You gotta be kidding me!?

The blond was also oblivious to just how loud his voice had to be to effectively give everyone in the same vicinity a headache (or maybe not). Iruka frowned down at the teen.

He was, in fact, completely serious.

"You're to go over that whole scroll before dinner, and don't think you can just stare at it for a while and call it good. I'll quiz you before I let you even SEE dinner."

Naruto glared right back at his adoptive parent.

"I can't waste my time reading! I need to eat and go to sleep. I'll fail the exam if I don't get enough sleep."

"And you'll also fail if you don't know how to answer the examiner's questions. So, if you're really worried about sleep, I would suggest you stop arguing with me and get to reading."

With a defeated sigh, the blond relented and began to skim over the scrolls contents.

Tomorrow would be the third time Naruto took the entrance exam for the Konoha Army. To be honest, Iruka doubted it would be his last.

The Konoha Army had become the most famed military in The Land of Fire swiftly after the peace treaty signed between the Senju and Uchiha. In order to cement their newly formed bond, the Senju offered to include a new regiment in which was purely made up of Uchiha. It did not last as many Uchiha began to mix with different regiments as well as many of the human settlers began integrating themselves into the army.

Now the army has become the most popular occupation in The Valleys Hidden in the Leaves, officially knocking down woodcarving to second place.

As it stands, the army is still not up to it's former strength after the tragic Uchiha clan massacre and is still pushing for as many new talented recruits as possible.... and Naruto was just itching to join.

The blond certainly had enough energy, strength, and skill. He'd accumulated said qualities at a young age.

After the death of his parents, both his grandparents were away and impossible to contact at the time. As such, he was orphaned and severely mistreated by his peers and the townspeople.

Obviously, they all thought, this kid must be trouble. He was marked. His parentage mattered not, for they were dead. No one wanted to deal with the likes of his kind.

That same little boy had become the town nuisance not long after.

However.... Iruka found him.

Iruka was, and still is, a teacher when that same nuisance came crashing into his classroom window. He'd been running from some shop owner he had managed to tick off, and assumed no one would look for him in the school. To say Iruka had been livid would be an understatement. The man lectured the boy for a good long while before he asked to speak to his parents.

Let's just say that Naruto had been adopted less than two weeks later.

"I'm done."

"Really? You read everything?"

"Yeah, yeah. So where's dinner?"

"Not so fast. I have to quiz you first."

"Why do you have to be a teacher ALL the time?!"

Iruka couldn't resist a soft chuckle.

Even if tomorrow ended in failure, they'd celebrate.

****

Sakura hated her job. Hated it.

She wanted to be someone useful. Someone who could make a true impact in others' lives. Not a seamstress. A boring, useless, underpaid seamstress.

Tomorrow she would have her chance, though it was a bit far fetched to think herself ready.

She wanted to be a field surgeon/apothecary for the Konoha Army.

Of course it sounds crazy when you think about it. If not for the Inuzukas, who defied all logic, women wouldn't even have a chance.

After the Konoha Army began to allow all residents of the Valleys Hidden in the Leaves to join, many of the forest dwelling Inuzukas began showing up to entrance exams. What threw examiners off was the fact over half of them were female. The law against female enrollment was immediately expunged to avoid conflict with the clan who protected the valleys' two main trading routes.

Her father supported her goal. Her mother, on the other hand, spurned it.

"Women are not meant to be surgeons! That's men's work! And a field surgeon is far worse... There's no reason for a pretty girl to waste away her youth. No man wants a woman with callouses and scars!"

The pinkette took a deep breath, successfully subduing the annoyed sigh that threatened to further mar the 'standard attitude' of a 'proper lady'.

"I'm going tomorrow. Father already said I could."

Her mother's lips wrenched down at both corners, face flushed in anger. It was a low blow, for 'proper women' listened to their husbands.

"The army is dangerous! If you're so hooked on this, why not just become a local apothecary? Don't bloody your hands as a surgeon, and certainly don't risk your life in the field!"

She didn't get it. She would never get it. While Sakura longed to one day settle down with a family, now was not the time.

"I want to be an apothecary AND a surgeon. You know it's impossible for me to work local. No one would trust a woman here-"

"Exactly!"

"But right now the army is low on surgeons. They'll actually give me a chance."

The older woman gripped the teen by her shoulders.

"They shouldn't. Those Inuzuka are all savages! Hardly human! You aren't cut out-"

Sakura tore away from her hold.

"I will prove you wrong!"

The shout was loud enough to create an echo in the small room. The pinkette didn't yell at her mother too often, so whenever she did, it always sent chills down her spine.

She appreciated what her mother was trying to do. It was always a comfort to know someone cared for you, but her personal ambitions simply got the best of her at times.

Sakura took in another deep breath.

"How about we make a deal?"

This instantly piqued the elder woman's interest. She nodded.

"If I fail tomorrow's entrance exam.... I'll give up on being a field surgeon."


	2. The Exam Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody shows up to the final entrance exam of the year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing a fic for a friend when I noticed I had an update already finished since the beginning of December. Here it is. Sorry for not posting it the moment I had finished it.

Kakashi lost a bet. It was that simple.

It surprised many, as he is not much of a gambler for either money or favors. Gambling simply never matched up to his interest in reading a good book.... yet he still wound up here.

He cursed Asuma for posing the bet as a challenge instead of a game.

While the seasoned warrior found gambling to be rather tasteless, a good challenge was hard to pass up nowadays.

The man's closest colleague managed to spark this little hobby, constantly demanding rematches and the works. However, said colleague was off someplace distant, traveling across the land in search of something he had been unable to explain. Now the two hardly met up anymore.

So, for nostalgia's sake, Kakashi put his job on the line...

"Are you enjoying this?" The silver haired man frowned behind his ever-present mask.

The Sarutobi chuckled in response, giving him a good hard pat on the back. Kakashi couldn't help but stew in the little mess he'd wrought upon himself in a brief lapse of judgment.

Seriously, who accepts a round of shogi from Asuma?

Shogi, while very popular over in the Divine Valley, is uncommon here. He was foolish enough to take on a bet with one of the few people in this village to master that particular board game.

"It's not so bad." Asuma smiled as he reluctantly stashed away his pipe, "They're a promising lot."

Kakashi peered out amongst the crowd of rowdy youth, his displeasure taking an extra leap or two.  
"If these kids are what you call promising, I'd hate to see the previous examinees."

Truly this was some cruel joke.

His companion sighed deeply, looking him in the eye, "I know you're used to working with mature adults, people who have seen war with their own two eyes. The people you see here today were either too young to remember those times or have never even experienced a year without peace."

"Why me?"

"First off, you lost the bet. Second of all, because I can't do it myself this year. Then finally..... I thought you might want a look at two of the examinees here today."

The Sarutobi pressed an open scroll into his hands. The list of today's examinees were scrawled down in the order in which they arrived. Asuma directed his attention to the first name.

"Sasuke Uchiha? As in the last Uchiha?"

"Bingo."

He then pointed at a name towards the bottom of the list.

Kakashi blinked twice before reading the name aloud, turning to his friend for confirmation.

"Naruto Uzumaki..... Minato's son."

*********************

Naruto couldn't help his growing frustration with today's proceedings.

All the examiners were busy chit-chatting away casually while he had been stuck standing in a stagnant line for over an hour already.

Today was the final entrance exam of the year. Therefore, the examiners would stall in case any stragglers managed to show up.

Iruka had warned him of this, knowing his son to be impatient from time to time. That's why Naruto had purposefully shown up late himself, yet obviously not late enough.

They had the examinees facing directly into the sun for some sadistic reason and the teen's arm was tired from shielding his eyes. What little propriety he'd brought with him was fresh out and Naruto finally turned away.

He felt somewhat justified when he noticed he wasn't the only one. The person directly in front of him had turned as well.

"This stinks." the blond mumbled, rubbing at his sore eyes.

"What?"

Naruto froze. Slowly his hands fell to his sides and he cursed himself for not realizing it earlier.  
The person was facing him.... and that person just so happened to be a girl.

He must have been gawking because she flicked him right between the eyes with a huff.

"It's rude to stare."

Before the boy could form an apology, one of the regular examiner's called everyone to attention.

*********************

She felt her conviction from the night previous mitigating at the edges little by little.

Sakura Haruno had foolishly staked her entire future on a single exam.

Looking around it was relatively obvious that she was out of her league. There was only one other woman present who just so happened to be one of the examiners.

A man who introduced himself to be Asuma Sarutobi officially opened the exam with a greeting. Not only did this greeting kick off with a warning as to this being the year's final entrance exam, he then stated that less than half would be accepted due to them being short staffed.

Due to the latter development, they would be adding a third phase to the exam… interviews.

An examiner with a dark bandana by the name of Ebisu then strolled down the line numbering off each of the examinees. One for physical, two for verbal, and three for the interviews.

As the man drew closer she could feel her chest ache with anxiety.

A warm hand patted her shoulder.

“Good luck on the exam!”

The blond smiled but Sakura couldn’t find the proper words to reply. He seemed friendly enough, but-

“Ahem!” A slightly deeper voice cut in before her silence drew into something awkward.

Ebisu shook his head.

“Phase 3, madam… and phase 1 for you, Naruto.”

She blinked at the way he addressed the blond beside her, his brows slightly scrunched in distaste. 

Sakura turned to the teen, shocked to see Naruto all too ecstatic to care for the examiner's antics.

Before the boy could speed away she grabbed his arm only to let go. However, the touch was enough to catch Naruto's attention.

“Good luck to you too.” She offered.

A face splitting grin consumed the boy's face as he all but skipped away shouting, “We’re going to ace this exam!”

The tension eased from her chest and the corners of her lips upturned to form a small smile.

Sakura would prove her mother wrong. She was going to pass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the characters (specifically Sakura and Naruto) seem a little OOC, it's because they are a bit more mature since they are both 18 right now and have never met each other. Just assume all characters from teams 7, 8, and 10 are 18.

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy? Kudos worthy?


End file.
